Category: Fiber

Posted on

Making Of: You Are So Articulate

My weaving, You Are So Articulate, is currently displayed at the 2021 New Jersey Arts Annual: ReVision and Respond at The Newark Museum of Art. 

Each piece of yarn used to in this weaving is representative of a particular conversation where I was acknowledged for being able to express my thoughts and ideas. As you can see this conversation comes up quite a bit.

  • You Are So Articulate-
  • You Are So Articulate- close up
  • You Are So Articulate- close up

You Are So Articulate comes in many forms, including…

you speak so well… you are well read… you speak white… and even “that went better than I was expecting”, comment after I nail the presentation.

Telling someone they are well-spoken is a back handed compliment. It carries the connotation that, it is unusual for someone Black to be intelligent. 

The completed weaving is displayed on a DYI loom, as if, it is a work in progress because some version of this conversation, continues still, till this very day.

Posted on

Mind Over Matter

Being alive means having the capacity to carry past experiences and learn from them. But there is a point when this emotional baggage becomes too much.  Carrying too much emotional baggage can literally stop us from being open to new experiences and growth.

How we choose to handle our baggage makes a difference. We have the choice to let it define us or to let it go and move forward.

With it’s festive pom poms and colorful African print fabric, Mind Over Matter is meant as a reminder that racial bias does not define me. It is a celebration of identity.

Mind Over Matter
Posted on

Thunder Dome

Inspiration…

Recycled commercial fishing net, ribbon, and paracord 64 x 12 x 6 in September 2020

Interpretation…

Recycled commercial fishing net, ribbon, and paracord 64 x 12 x 6 in September 2020
Posted on

Black Ballerina

As a child, I wanted to take ballet. When my mom took me to the dance school, the teacher took one look at me and told me I was better suited for Jazz/Tap because my skin tone would not match the point shoes. Don’t get me wrong, I love Jazz/Tap, but I never got a pair of point shoes and still regret this to this day.

A set of five 100′ of slip half hitched chain black glitter 1/4” cotton ropes, knotted with ribbon, recycled ribbon, sari ribbon, acrylic yarn, broken jewelry and 8” zip ties on bamboo ring.
Posted on

Morning Dew

Sunrise and Morning Dew

The ornamental grasses on my roof deck sway gently,
with the breeze.
Holding droplets of dew , while the sun rises.
The light dancing between the high rises,
in boomerang reflection.
Warming the air and evaporating the pearl like droplets,
into vapor.

250′ Cotton rope, yarn, and a string of pearls on 8′ steel structure
Posted on

All Dressed Up, Nowhere To Go

While in lockdown during the first month of the Pandemic, I decided to organize my closet and clean out my storage unit.

While sorting through my things, childhood memories of playing dress up in my mother’s clothes flooded my brain.

I recreated this moment with this installation.

Four structure, Vintage hat, shoes and bag, 3 ply cotton rope, pears, rhinestones, wrapped rope, yarn, trim, beading on steel structure
Posted on

PEOPLE PLACE DISRUPTION

I was blown away how the choreographers and dancers used my Ponytails and Door Knocker Earrings as if it is another dancer in their work.

I love how the video was shot and edited. My hair totems have been truly brought to life.

Watch to see for yourself.

The gallery exhibition of PEOPLE PLACE DISRUPTION will be up at the Nimbus Arts Center on Sundays from 11am – 2pm with 20 minute reservable spots through May 22 : https://ppdgallery.eventbrite.com

Posted on

Wow… just wow.

Can I please take a moment to geek out for a second?

Just feast your eyes upon my ponytails, the beautiful grace of dancer, Aanyse Pettiford-Chandle and Megan Maloy’s stunning Photography.

Wow, just wow…

People Place Disruption premieres on April 28th as a virtual event with dance film and discussion as part of Nimbus Dance’s Spring 2021 season: A collaborative work which draws together dancers and choreographers of Nimbus Dance with Jersey City visual artists to reflect back and process the exceptional confluence of social, environmental, health, and economic upheaval that our community, and the world face at present. The project aims to affirm and empower artists and collaborative action, exploring underlying webs between people, place and the disruptive times we live in. .

Posted on

People, Place, Disruption

A Collective Dance/Art Project by Nimbus Dance and Jersey City Artists

A flood of voices: untapped, unheard, enraged. New voices. Young voices. Stifled voices. Voices that stretch the confines of our worldview. Voices that uncover identity. Voices that are exquisite. In People Place Disruption, the artistic voices of a community unite to reflect on the past year. This collective, brought together by Nimbus Dance of Jersey City, includes choreographers, visual artists, video designers, photographers, lighting designers, and filmmakers – a vehicle that summons strength through individual voice and in unified action. People Place Disruption is a multimedia project that illustrates a path forward – unveiled through collective creation.

The artwork of Jennifer Brown, Isabelle Duverger, Myssi Robinson, Melida Rodas, Theda Sandiford, William Stamos, Rachel Terres, Joe Velez will be exhibited in the Gallery at Nimbus Arts Center on Sundays from April 11-May 9

will premiere on April 28th as a virtual event with dance film and discussion as part of Nimbus Dance’s Spring 2021 season: A collaborative work which draws together dancers and choreographers of Nimbus Dance with Jersey City visual artists to reflect back and process the exceptional confluence of social, environmental, health, and economic upheaval that our community, and the world face at present. The project aims to affirm and empower artists and collaborative action, exploring underlying webs between people, place and the disruptive times we live in. 

Tickets available for the performance: HERE